Martha Barnes Dyett                   

Martha Barnes was born 29 Dec. 1841 at Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, the daughter of Mark Barnes and Ann Armstrong.  Her father was English and her Mother Irish.  She had four brothers and sister, Joseph, Mark, and two baby sisters named Mary Ann who died in infancy.  She was the youngest of the family.  She was baptized a member of the Church in 1849 by her father Mark Barnes.  She worked and lived away from home when her father was on a mission.  She was living with Robert and Mary Lamont when Mr. Lamont introduced her to William Dyett whom she later married on Dec. 1856 at Sterlingshire, Scotland.

Mark, brother of Martha enlisted in the British Army and went to India at the time of the Rebellion.  He stayed in India and married a girl he met.  They had children, how many no one ever knew.

Grandmother loved to read, especially romances.  She always wanted to be a writer but never had the time and when she had the time her eyes bothered her and she couldn’t do much.  She was like the grandmother in “White Bird Flying”.  She had three hymns she loved to sing “Earth With Her Ten Thousand Flowers”,  “Come, Come Ye Saints”, and “O Ye Mountains High”.  Her favorite song was “In the Hazel Dell My Nellie’s Sleeping”.  Her hobby was knitting and needle work.  She was about five feet tall and rather small in structure, with lots of brown hair and gray-blue eyes.  She was a brave cheerful woman who tried to meet all her trials with faith.  She was an active church member.  Her dream was to get to Utah, but it seemed it could only be a dream because they couldn’t save enough for that.  When the news came from the Immigration Office telling her the papers were ready and the money was there for their journey to Utah, she couldn’t believe it.  The money was sent by her oldest child, William, who had gone to Utah several years before.  His grandfather had sent for him. 

It was a busy, happy, and sad time.  She hated to think she might never see the two graves of her babies again, but happy to be going to the center of Zion.  At last the day arrived, June 25, 1881.  They boarded the steamship, Wyoming.  It was evening when they went aboard for they were to sleep on the ship.  During the early morning hours, grandmother awakened and felt the ships motion.  She got up and looked out.  In the grey dawn, she could see the shoreline of her native country fast fading from view.  A lonely felling came over her and she thought of these words to a song. 

“The gallant ship is under way to bear me off to sea

Ane yonder floats the steamer gay that says she waits for me.

The seaman dip the ready oar as rippled waves oft tell.

They bear me swiftly from the shore, my native land farewell!”

The ship had mechanical trouble and one time lurched to one side almost throwing those on deck into the sea.  Her son James fell overboard but was rescued by a sailor.  Her son Alex was lost for hours.  They found him in the steward’s office. 

They arrived in New York July 7^th and in Ogden Utah July 15^th.  She was very glad to see her father whom she hadn’t seen for twenty one years, and also her son William.  Her daughter Elizabeth was born Jan. 1, 1882 in Salt Lake City.  The family moved to Rock Springs, WY.  There Martha worked in the Relief Society, she with the president and the other counselor obtained the land for the new church from the Union Pacific for $1.oo. 

Martha died Jan. 30, 1900 in Salt Lake City after a long illness.  She is buried in the city cemetery along with her husband.  Though they arrived in Utah after the railroad, she and her husband are listed in Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah.